Aid for entrepreneurs under the Anti-crisis shield

The Anti-crisis Shield includes:

• Exemption of micro-sized companies, i.e. those with maximum 9 employees (as of 29 February 2020), from social security contributions for 3 months – the exemption applies to contributions for an employer and his/her employees. The mechanism applies also to self-employed whose revenues do not exceed 300% of the average gross monthly salary, and who pay contributions only for themselves;
• Downtime pay of up to PLN 2,080 for those working based on civil law contracts (contracts of mandate, agency agreements, specific work contracts) and self-employed whose revenues do not exceed 300% of the average gross monthly salary;

• co-financing employees’ salaries up to 40% of the average gross monthly salary and introduction of flexible working time for businesses in hardship;
• protection of consumers against excessive increase of prices and other unfair practices;
• temporary abolition of the prolongation fee in tax and social security claims;
• enabling deduction of anti-pandemic donations from revenue;
• preferential conditions for loss settlement;
• support in terms of re-financing lease contracts for transportation companies offered by the Industrial Development Agency (Agencja Rozwoju Przemysłu – ARP);
• reliefs for the tourism industry;
• liberalisation of the ban on trading on Sundays – stores are allowed to receive, unload and display necessities;
• automatic extension of legal stay and work permits of foreigners;
• exemption from the obligation to charge contractual penalties for delays in the realisation of public contracts, which occur due to epidemic;
• enabling municipal/commune councils to exempt businesses which lost financial liquidity due to coronavirus from the obligation to pay real estate tax for a part of 2020;
• extension of working capital credits based on financial data as of the end of 2019;
• de minimis guarantees from the National Economy Bank (Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego – BGK);
• subsidies for interest from BGK;
• liquidity guarantee funds offered by BGK, Polish Development Fund (Polski Fundusz Rozwoju – PFR) and Export Credit Insurance Corporation (Korporacja Ubezpieczeń Kredytów Eksportowych – KUKE), including the possibility for medium and large-sized enterprises to increase their share capital and obtain support in a form of bonds managed by PFR Investments (PFR Inwestycje). The support will have a total value of PLN 6 billion.

As a response to the difficult time for entrepreneurs, Mayor of Lublin Krzysztof Żuk has introduced a local support package, which is addressed in particular to those operating in service, trading and manufacturing industries.

The Lublin Support Package for local businesses includes possibilities to:

• temporary suspend lease payments for tenants of premises owned by the municipality, who represent industries excluded pursuant to regulation of the Minister of Health of 13 March 2020;
• defer lease payment for tenants of premises owned by the municipality and allow payment in instalments;
• defer payments of local taxes and allow payment in instalments;
• defer payments for perpetual usufruct and allow payment in instalments.

In case of decreased revenues of businesses, support is also offered by the Municipal Labour Office in Lublin. Thanks to co-financing from the Labour Fund, the Office offers:

• one-off loans for micro-sized companies for covering costs of running their businesses;
• co-financing of a part of employees’ salaries along with due social security contributions addressed to employers and self-employed;

• co-financing of a part of employees’ salaries along with due social security contributions addressed to non-governmental organisations.

More detailed information and rules of submitting applications are published on a regular basis at the website of the Municipal Labour Office in Lublin https://muplublin.praca.gov.pl/tarczaantykryzysowa-sars-cov-2 . Additionally, the Office offers special phone numbers and an email address to answer all enquiries and questions entrepreneurs might have (81) 466 52 44, (81) 466 52 41, (81) 466 52 24, tarcza@mup.lublin.pl .

As of 31 March 2020, the number of the unemployed registered at the Municipal Labour Office in Lublin amounted to 9,390 people, while at the end of February 2020 the unemployment rate in Lublin stood at 5.1% (as compared to 7.7% for Lubelskie Region and 5.5% for Poland). By 8 April 2020, the Office received 3 notifications about planned dismissals of employees.

To learn more about the Anti-crisis Shield, visit the website of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy https://www.gov.pl/web/rodzina/tarczaantykryzysowa